And Lovren recently said in an interview that Klopp also told the squad a few times that they have a few days off to go somewhere, reset themselves and come back focused. Said that he knew how to balance it, regardless whether the results were good or bad.
Different factors play in this, the schedule has also changed a little bit since those years. We had some winter breaks under Klopp when the team wasn’t performing well, so it was both for warm weather training and off time.
And of course that they all use part of their free time for their private needs. Whether that’s staying at home, doing some activities or going somewhere, that’s up to them. If someone has the feeling that Slot isn’t giving 100% (which we cannot judge from this position for sure), then that’s up to them. I don’t feel that way.
We can talk about the things we know for example and we know that Slot changed the mandatory T-1 day to be spend at the Titanic. They rather stay at home with their families and meet up on matchday (I guess the morning of the match).
I’m closest to the most unspectacular opinion without any theories or feeling that they’re not putting the effort in: they have a free week (ahead of a tough following one), we don’t have many players available, certain level of cohesion has been reached recently, we’re on the back of two good wins, it’s possible that the medical staff also gave the green light for some off time, they concluded that there is a rare possibility to give them a few days off and enough time to train when they’re back.
Their rhythm will not drop, this is not the type of break we had before the final in Madrid.
I work in a very high-stress job. My mental health is constantly being tested. When I started in this career about 15 years ago, my mentality was to work hard and work often. Breaks were a distraction - an imposition on my ability to finish what was ahead of me.
And after a few years of this, bit by bit, I found my mental health degrading. What was once a motivating desire for self-improvement became a constant feeling of self-loathing. Every negative experience was magnified. What once felt like a bump in the road now felt like a gaping hole that sucked me in. I found myself, regularly, contemplating my self-worth. And it started affecting my work.
What helped was a boss who saw what I was going through and pushed me to take a break and seek support. And while I still have my moments, I can spot it now when it’s coming and arrest the slide before it drives me towards a deep darkness.
If Slot is any kind of man manager - or at least if his assistants are capable - it’s important to let these guys take breaks and find ways to rejuvenate themselves mentally for a taxing stretch run on three fronts. There has been a persistent sense of doom clouding these guys when they play. Every mistake abets another.
It tells me that they need to rest their minds in a space of comfort and security. To rejuvenate in order to contend with a challenging next few months.
Really looking forward to this one. Man City will want the win and will come and have a go. Same on our end. Should make for a good spectacle.
We have been inconsistent for various reasons, but the signs have been better the last couple. We had a rare treat of no midweek game so we have trained well and rested well.
Anything can happen, but I would love it if Ekitike upstages Haaland, and Wirtz has another blinder to make them regret missing out. Up the reds!
You are right, although there are ways to make it alot more neutral…like “my time at Liverpool was one of the best and the time of my career. The fans were fantastic, the city is fantastic, my family loves Liverpool. The forum TheAnfieldNoise is one of the best forums ever, especially that poster from Singapore. Of course I am now on the other side this Sunday and I am now at one of the strongest club in the world and as a professional will go all out to defeat Liverpool, but beyond that, nothing will change my affection for the city, the fans and the club”
March 3rd we play Wolves then our next game is Spurs on 15th.
At first I thought there may be an international window, but that is late March. Might be FA Cup 5th Round possibly in that window, so depending on how we perform against Brighton it might be a 12 day break or we could have a game the weekend of 6th-8th.
We could also have the Last 16 round of the Champions League in that period, as last year that round was played 4th/5th and 11th/12th March
